You see all this stuff on pregnancy boards about the evils of hospital births, how you're doomed, doomed to be rushed into a cascade of interventions but that's so not how things went for me

Plei, I have issues with the home-birth crowd who insists that doctors and hospitals are all part of this evil, male-dominated medical cabal out to rob you of your natural birth experience. As a matter of fact, every medical professional in my birth was a woman.

Not in the US, so not really applicable to the pregnancy-board weirdness, but my whole labor and delivery process was as natural as it could be. The only male hospital personnel were the orderlies who slung my bed from the labor room to the delivery room, and then moved me to my suite, and the first anesthesiologist. But even if the male doctors had been involved, they really try to let nature do what nature does best, and monitor/assist just to make sure that nature doesn't manifest its uglier side.

I need some job ma.

There is a large ticket item we dont' ahve any more. It's been gone for a long time (years, way before the current people were here) and it wasn't properly surplussed but illegally sold to another employee. Last year we went through this whole thing trying to account for it adn the situation was resolved. Except the same people are trying to claim we have it. I lost all my email from that time, so it's going to be tricky. I've got to start printing this kind of stuff out.

Oh, ick, askye. Much ~ma headed your way.

I beg though.

Almost as much as the cats.

Max goes crazy whenever we have fish.

Which leads to a question for the hivemind -- how do you deal with a bullying cat? Max seems to have decided that he's alpha cat. OK, so far, no big problem, whatever.

Unfortunately, he likes to attack Teddy. (He likes to attack Marie, too, but she stands up for herself and even gets one over on him sometimes.) And Teddy, never having socialized with other cats, doesn't fight back. In fact, he's afraid of Max and tends to stick to one small area of the house.

Any advice?

Also, much jobma for askye.

Icky: I was changing the diaper of a newborn when one of Dad's friends walked in. He'd seen me before in the corridor and made a show of saying hello in a very flirtatious way. When he noticed that it was me changing the baby, he said, gesturing to his drink, "My turn next! I'm going to need a diapering after this, ma'am."

A friend of your dad's or a baby's dad. I mean, both are completely gross, and icky, but if he was a friend of your own father, I think you should have given him a shot of valium in the ass.

He said, "Yeah, I think at this point I'm so beat that I should probably just go home." I said OK and started to walk away when he said, all quiet and shy, "But, um, maybe we could, um, y'know, do it some other time? Soon?"

Meep!

Plei, I have issues with the home-birth crowd who insists that doctors and hospitals are all part of this evil, male-dominated medical cabal out to rob you of your natural birth experience. As a matter of fact, every medical professional in my birth was a woman. Even the medical studen t who asked me to observe. And they were very good about communicating and listening to what I wanted and encouraging me to handle as much as I could before I went for the meds.

I pretty much write off anyone who is too agenda-driven on any side of the childbirth (and child rearing for that matter) issue. I think sometimes, when something worked for/was comfortable for one woman, she starts to believe it is the only way. The truth is, birth is a life and death situation. For most of our history, we were born in the dirt, and as a race, we've survived. Things can go horribly wrong and horribly right at the most modern, progressive, esteemed hospitals, and in the back seat of the car, too.

I think it is important to learn as much as you can, so you know your options, and can choose those which will be of help and comfort to you, while ensuring (as much as they can) a safe delivery.

Oh, poor Teddy. I have no advice Fred Pete, but I hope it works out.

askye, much jobma to you.

Fred, I know it's different, but we pretty much had to let Toto and Bastet work it out. It's weird, because with dogs, Toto is usually the more aggressive, but he totally submits to Bastet. They pretty much ignore each other now. Hopefully, your cats can get to the same point.

I'll ask my bro and SIL what they did with their two cats for you too. Schicci was NOT happy when Thisby came home. After they'd had Thisby for a couple of weeks, we all got this picture of the two cats "getting along." It was of the two of them on the dining room table - on opposite sides. It was so cute and so funny.

AS had her interview this morning, it sounds like it went badly. She felt like one of the interviewers just took a dislike to her right off the bat.

FWIW, Christopher had one of his interviewers act like a complete asshole to him when he interviewed at current job. The guy acted totally unprofessional. When he met me afterwards, he told me there was no way he was getting the job. He was wrong. I hope AS isn't too discouraged.

I wonder if the situation is a "good cop/bad cop" scenerio, seeing how the interviewee handles inappropriate statements.

Not saying it's a valid tactic, just that interviewers get some weird notions into their heads...

Some people are just crappy interviewers, too.